(OK, they're gonna make a movie about Marius and his pals in a chatroom, and it'll be called Scream & Shout!)

Na, they caught me once...I morphed, proving too strong for the fencing and too clever for the locks, and managed to spring all the dogs without damaging anything but property. (Mama Roma's since had me microchipped.) >({|;-)

Late Friday night I heard from Marius' mother - and wouldn't you know it, as soon as Marius was away I couldn't access our boards. Anyway, the operation went very well, the cancer was contained, and no further complications are expected. Marius should be arriving at his mother's house in a day or two, where he will be recuperating for roughly two weeks.

I'm still at the hospital as I write this, waiting for transport back to Mater's house. I'll pop back on occasionally (when I've got the energy), say Hei to people, respond to things...and watch Tibi Draco do all the admin stuff. >({|;-)

I'd like to wish a most auspicious dies natalis to G Equitius Cato, one of my earlier RP Thread companions and now a Praetor of Nova Roma. We seem to have come into the world mere hours apart...! >({|:-)

Inquit Claudius Iohannes:> How's your sitting up and all that? Are you decently healed yet?

Respondeo:

Avissime, mi Iohanne!

I'm very nearly normal again, as long as "normal" is relatively low-key. I can pull at least one standard, three-hour session a day, and sometimes two. The lifting restriction's gone away; I brought in my own groceries the last two times (I only buy about six bags' worth when I go). I don't need any functional aids to shower, cook, reach things, etc. The little dog's walks are getting longer by increments. I slept on my belly the other night. Physically, I feel better than I have for a Very Long Time.

I'm not up to any huge projects yet, which has more to do with my mental than my physical state. This means I think the other Curatores are going to be doing most of the wrangling for our upcoming elections. (Sodales omnes: We have upcoming elections!) Tiberius Draco is still doing the major work on the Web site. OTOH, mi Servili, I can resume enrolling the newbies if we've had any!

Oh, and the pathology results: It's outta my life. I don't have to go back for chemo, radio or nothin'. They'll just have me over about once a quarter for the next few years to make sure things stay that way.

...and then 'twas Ericius' turn. He had his right knee replaced this morning (8 Nov). He came through just fine; Caesia, his uxor, e-mailed several of his friends just before they (the docs, not the friends) moved him to the recovery room. We should have more news once she's visited with him.

Prayers of all faiths and any other well-wishes most certainly welcome!

Caesia sends this update:"Saw Bert again this afternoon. He was less groggy than yesterday, but still had moments when he looked like he was going to sleep in the middle of a sentence. While I was there the Physical Therapist came in, got him up, had him walk around the room and sit up in a chair. She seemed pleased with his progress.

"He will be in the hospital at least until Monday, and possibly longer. Depends on how fast he heals and how soon he gets back on his feet. His surgeon told him that he had made the right choice, to have surgery now. When they got in to the joint, not only was there no cartilage left, but the head of the femur was beginning to wear away.

"He would like visitors, beginning immediately."All right, you Californios, you heard the lady. Go ye therefore and say Hei! >({|;-)

Caius Aelius Ericius was the Nova Roman governor of California when I first became a Citizen there. That means I've known him for going on ten years. I don't remember precisely what drew our attention to each other; but I was posting informative things on the NR Main List (not yet such a battleground), and so was he, so I'm thinking maybe we each read things that the other wrote and liked them.

He often posted notices relating to the Religio Romana. Day-to-day things, like what the Roman day and date were, and who were the patron Gods/Goddesses of the day or month, and the names and meanings of any festivals that fell on that day. This was my first contact with the Religio as a living thing, as something practiced daily by someone I knew. I felt like I was going through the "liturgical year" with him; though I was not a practitioner myself, I liked knowing what might have been going through an ancient Roman's mind on this day or that. It furthered my feeling of connection with the Ancestors. In this way he made the Religio appealing to me in a way that no "pagan fundamentalist", or micronation full of 'em, could have with all their browbeating. (And they did beat brows over that in Nova Roma early on.)

As a result of him being one of the few people I could talk to about the Religio, and of the mutual respect that grew between us even across our respective faiths, and the natural alliances that formed between us on various issues, he became one of only four people in my life whom I have called soul-friend--by whatever name, whether anamchara (the Celtic Christian term) or comespiritu (our homebrew Latin)--he has been a "Friend of my Spirit".

We've even met in person; I swung by Provincia California in July of '99 and met him for a joint-forces book-shopping expedition. >({|:-)

When I was in the hospital, he didn't send me a get-well card; he figured I'd probably gotten a few of those. (Boy howdy, did I ever!) Na, he sent me a chatty letter accompanied by a book about the Roman auxilia, which I'd been looking for pretty much since the last time I saw him. (He said it was an "extra copy" he'd just "picked up"... Gods, I miss San Francisco!!!)

So, yeah, Ericius is kind of important to me. That said, though he only drops by here infrequently, I hope he's become a little more significant to you too.

(He's doing great, btw; they've got him sitting up, walking the hallways with help, standing for short periods. His surgeon will tell him tomorrow how close he is to going home; even afterwards he'll have physical therapy to attend to.)

Ericius is home!! (Since Wednesday, actually; but I haven't been on much m'self this week, so this is the first chance I've had to say so.) Happier there than anywhere, of course, beneath the crotchety exterior. I remand him to the loving care of uxor Caesia, feles Catullus and a clowder of other remarkable cats. >({|:-)

Since my last post in this thread, we've been sharing a bit about our Remarkable Cats and companions of other species. So I've made a new topic. It's in the Introductions section, and it's called Our Pets! Photos most welcome; show us your critters if you've been blessed with any! >({|:-) ]{:o)

Last Wednesday my grandmother, age 96, was hospitalised for, among other things, dehydration and an alarming weight loss. She is doing pretty well, all things considered, and looks way better than she did when she was admitted. But it's very hard for her to swallow, so she can no longer take in enough solid food to maintain her weight. She doesn't want a feeding tube. She will be entering hospice care upon discharge.

I am strongly attached to this lady; hence, I'm going to be a patchy fog for a while.

Avia Maria got out of the hospital this morning and is back at her nursing home. She was walking around a little bit (with assistance) and at least partially feeding herself, and has had visits from her doctor and her priest. She's on the sunny side of her room, with a new, Spanish-speaking roommate. Naturally she was pretty tuckered out after the transfer and such; but while in the hospital she gained back ten pounds--now all we gotta do is keep it that way for as long as we can.

Mater has been handling everything, the decision-making and the paperwork and a good part of the care. As long as everyone's beaming well-wishes, could y'all shoot some her way...?

I'm a bit of a loose end in all this; I'm not much help with the caregiving portion, but I can at least show up and tell stories, and provide my Ma with moral support. Other'n that, I'm still here, and that's a good thing; I've said more than once that the Little Dog and the Web site are keeping me sane.